


The Vehicle

by starprise_entership



Series: The Doctor and The Counsellor are Best Friends [2]
Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Gen, more brotp, more ridiculousness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-23 02:24:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13180392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starprise_entership/pseuds/starprise_entership
Summary: Odo makes a very convincing segway, according to Julian and Ezri.





	The Vehicle

“What’s that over there?” Ezri inquires, stopping in her tracks. Julian follows her pointing finger to a shadowed spot under a pillar, and there sits an object. The object seems to be a vehicle, as it has two wheels at its base. The handlebar extends upwards from the base, like the neck of a giraffe. The base looks like it’s wide enough for one person to stand on.

Julian starts walking towards the shadowed area, and Ezri follows in right behind him. Upon reaching the object, he gives a knowing nod. “A segway.” He announces, running a hand lightly across the horizontal bars. “My parents used to have one. Ancient Earth technology.”

“Why did your parents have a vehicle like this?” Ezri asks, crossing her arms. “To go places in?”

“No, we usually took the hovercraft, but we had this vehicle. As a novelty toy. Schematics are hardly available now, but my father built me one as a birthday present.” Julian explains, backing off slightly when he mentions his father. “This looks like it’s in good condition.” Looking around, he drops his voice. “I’m not sure if anyone’s lost it. I think I saw it when we passed an hour ago.”

“Should we bring it to Odo?” Ezri suggests. “He could help us find the owner of this segway.”

Julian gives a nod. “Good idea.” He pauses, smiling. “Also, I’ve wanted to take this thing for a spin.” He steps onto the base, and grabs the horizontal handlebars. Shifting his weight forward, the segway responds to the change in the distribution of weight, and the segway jerks forwards. 

“I haven’t done this in a long time,” Julian admits, turning to Ezri. “Maybe you’d like to try.” 

“You should get it warmed up, I suppose.” Ezri says. “Are you sure you still know how to ride this thing?”

Julian yelps as he attempts to stablise the segway. “I should be able to,” he says, finally getting a firm grip. He steers it forwards, in the direction of Odo’s office. The segway moves along at an ambling pace, slow enough for Ezri to walk beside him. It’s a lazy day, and groups of people are few and sparse, which allows Julian and Ezri to move along the Promenade without receiving too many puzzled stares. 

“Does it usually go this slow?” Ezri asks.

Julian shrugs. “It could go faster.”

Ezri’s face lights up. “Maybe I can finally outrun you.”

“You can try.” Julian replies, beaming.

Halfway there, Julian steps down so that Ezri can have a try. Her legs wobble as she tries to control the segway, which reluctantly moves forward.

“Don’t be too afraid to shift your weight forward,” advises Julian. Ezri closes her eyes, and takes a deep breath before continuing. She leans forward, and the segway zooms forward at what could possibly be the fastest speed possible, causing Julian to catch up at a light jog.

“Watch out, Ezri!” Julian hollers, but Ezri swerves to the left in time, out of the way of a confused Ferengi waiter, who almost drops his tray of drinks. Julian slows down, and grabs the tray with both hands, saving the drinks. “Terribly sorry,” he apologises, and continues on his way.

By the time he’s caught up again, Ezri has arrived at Odo’s office. She stands next to the segway, in one piece. 

“How on earth did you manage to get here?” Julian remarks, astonished. “Without a single scratch?”

“Emony’s reflexes, I guess.” Ezri guesses. “Now what do we do with this? Odo’s not in.”

“Not in?” Odo’s gruff voice sounds, and Ezri and Julian watch on as the segway starts to transform into a bronze sludge, and then back into Odo’s humanoid form. “Well, I must admit, that was quite an intriguing experience.”

“Odo!” Ezri greets, surprised. “Uh, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” Odo asks. “Oh, that. I can assure you, it was definitely not an unpleasant experience.”

“Phew.” Ezri heaves a sigh of relief.

“Why a segway?” Julian asks, curious.

Odo pauses to think. “Well, it was something I saw while browsing through some logs, and it seemed like an interesting form of mobile transportation.”

“Or you’re just jealous that Laas could transform into things like fog and you couldn’t.” Julian pokes, teasing.

“Go easy on me, Doctor,” Odo harrumphs. “As a changeling, I do need to hone my skills from time to time.”

“Well,” begins Julian, “I’d say you made a very convincing segway.” He gives a sideway glance at Ezri, and it takes all their willpower to stop themselves from bursting out into laughter.


End file.
